1 year govt service after PG may no longer mandatory: Telangana to introduce Bill

Hyderabad: Postgraduate medical students will no longer have to compulsorily serve in a government hospital for one year, on completion of their course is a decision the state government has taken in order to provide relief to these students. However, a section of students is demanding that the decision is mulled over and that it rather be made optional for the students. This demand by the students has been raised in order to facilitate those who want to pursue teaching as a profession.

According to Chief Minister, K. Chandrasekhar Rao, the bill making the 1-year government service after post graduation no longer compulsory will be introduced in the coming session of the legislature and it would become effective for the next academic year.

Officials have been given directions to ensure that postgraduate students who pass out this year are registered without having done a one year service.

Presently, it is mandatory for PG students to work in a government hospital for one year in order to ensure registration of their degrees. Students, however, have been demanding a rethink on the condition and asking that it be made optional reports the Hindu.

Their reason for demanding that 1-year compulsory government service is made optional arises from the fact that the new MCI norms state that students who serve as senior resident doctors for a minimum of one year in government institutions will be eligible to apply for the post of assistant professor.

According to the Medical Council of India's Minimum Qualifications for Teachers in Medical Institutions Regulations, 1998 (AMENDED UPTO 8th JUNE, 2017), a person needs to complete one year of senior residency to be eligible for assistant professor's post. The Health Department official said that the MCI rule still stays. "We have created senior resident posts in government hospitals. Whoever wants to become an assistant professor, can apply for it," an official told Indian Express

Meanwhile, Mr. Rao though having taken note of the optional request said PG students were no longer required for the 1-year compulsory government service, as steps had been initiated by the government to appoint adequate staff in State-run institutions.

The compulsory rural service condition for MBBS students had been scrapped by the government in 2016.

This had been done keeping in mind that the government was not accruing benefits sought from doctors during their rural service tenures, while their stipend payments were costing the exchequer. The government's major grouse was that doctor's sent on rural postings were not performing their duties on the expected lines.

The 1,500 PG seats in the government and private medical colleges in Telangana cost the government a stipend of Rs. '46,000 per month for each SR, taking the amount spent on stipends to '69 crore.

On the other hand, Revoking the one-year service means PGs who have attended to patients in government hospitals will not be available to them from next year. The present Postgraduates will complete their course in April-May. If such high number of doctors are done away with medical services in government hospitals are bound to be hit.

At the moment recruitment for posts of 2,195 doctors: 474 assistant professors, 521 civil assistant surgeons under Directorate of Medical Education and 1,200 specialty posts under Telangana Vaidya Vidhana Parishad is on. The present Senior residents will serve in government hospitals for another six months.

According to Commissioner of TVVP, Dr B Shiva Prasad the recruitment process will be over in three to four months.The Diplomate National Board courses that are to be started at district hospitals will provide additional doctors.

However, PG students speaking on the issue of age said they are 28 or 29 years by the time they complete PG, and the cutting down a year would benefit them as they will be able to pursue careers interests.

"Since we work at hospitals throughout the PG course, senior residency does not teach us anything new," said Convenor, TJUDA, Guguloth Sanjay.